Landlords in Northern Ireland face large fines if they don’t comply with electrical safety rules introduced this week.
All new tenancies starting in private rented properties from April 1 must have a certified electrical safety inspection, while existing tenancies granted before then have until December 1, 2025 to comply.
Safety checks cover the property’s electrical installation, such as the socket outlets, consumer unit and wiring, by a competent and qualified person and must be conducted at least once every five years.
Landlords get a EICR - electrical installation condition report - following the inspection and have 28 days to ensure any remedial work is carried out.
Tenants must get a copy of the most recent EICR within 28 days of the landlord receiving the report, and new tenants need to get one before they move into the property, while prospective tenants need the report within 28 days of request and seven days if requested by the local council.
The new law aims to protect more than 100,000 privately rented homes in Northern Ireland. If councils believe an offence has been committed, they can take the landlord to court for non-compliance – where the penalty is a potentially unlimited fine - or impose a fixed penalty notice.
Identical laws were introduced in England in 2022 and one year on from their introduction, research by Electrical Safety First revealed that nearly 7,000 electrical faults were uncovered through the new checks rolled out across 98 local authorities in England.
The charity has produced a Northern Ireland Landlords’ Guide to help landlords comply with the new rules.
Lesley Rudd said: “Every tenant deserves to live in a safe home, and we are confident these new laws introduced by the Northern Ireland Executive will help in ensuring that is the case for thousands of renters.”
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